Published: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 27, 2014 at 9:53 p.m.

Sept. 22, 2007, was likely the darkest night of Rondo's life.

Ron Fernandez, the owner of one of the hottest nightspots in Ocala at the time, was handcuffed and taken from his Rondo's Good Time Bar & Grill along College Road by Ocala police, accused of allowing the sale of drugs and selling alcohol to minors there.

“Confusion,” he recalled. “It was a crazy busy night. They (police) came in later and just shut everything down. I was in shock.” The pain of this memory is evident; it's not something he likes to discuss.

A year later he accepted a plea deal, admitting guilt to a second-degree misdemeanor of maintaining a public nuisance. He was sentenced to one day in jail, but given credit for time already served. Rondo long ago accepted responsibility for allowing the ill-doing at his public house.

“I think the reason we lost that place is because I just lost focus,” he said recently. It may have been too much “Good Time” and not enough control over his staff and patrons.

It was a deep low for the man with the golden recipes and a hunger for the blues. But the arrest came with a life-changing epiphany:

“When you lose everything you own, I think it was the best thing that ever happened in my life. It really opened my eyes to what was important to me, which is my family and my kids. When you hit bottom, you kind of do a soul search.

“I was never an angel,” Rondo added, “but it was a huge eye-opening, growth opportunity for me.”

And grow he did.

Today, Rondo stands among culinary titans in Marion County. He returned to the restaurant landscape in 2009, and his Mojo Grill sites in Ocala and Belleview — he's hoping to be moved into a new site there by Sunday — are almost always jammed with lunch and dinner patrons. He is hugely successful, and it is hard to miss the Mojo moniker around town. He's also considered one of the most philanthropic business leaders in the county.

And soon, perhaps as early as March, Rondo is planning to open a pair of comfort-food offshoot eateries, one each in Ocala and Belleview, designed to teach troubled youngsters a marketable skill to help them avoid bigger troubles in the future.

Plus even more to come.

Typically, whenever planning for some worthwhile community effort begins, Mojo is atop the list of businesses to hit up for help. And just as typically, Rondo comes through.

“I don't recall one time when he said 'No,' ” said Troy Strawder, CEO of ARC Marion, which provides training and jobs for the developmentally challenged. “He's always believed in our mission and our clients.”

Jennifer McKathan with the local American Cancer Society agreed. “His community support goes above and beyond,” she said.

For last October's breast cancer awareness campaign, he donated food and employee time. He even unveiled a pink minivan containing the names of thousands of area breast cancer survivors and casualties.

“He didn't question whether they were still living,” she said. “Everything we've done, he's done: Relay for Life, Making Strides ... and I'm sure if we had another campaign he'd be a part of it.”

It's just giving back, Rondo said modestly. “I wouldn't be where I'm at without the support from other people,” he said. “And I've always had a passion for kids.”

The past two Halloweens, he's sponsored a Trunk or Treat, and even rustled up costumes for children whose families couldn't afford any; one small girl in a bumblebee costume came up to him to say thank you. “That's something I'll always remember,” he said.

Helping others, he estimated, amounts to about $30,000 a year in donated food and service, but it's money well invested.

And it's not just him; his employees — now 140 but soon to number 200 — all dedicate at least one hour a week to a volunteer service.

His community involvement blends well with his wildly popular food. Mojo's has been honored at the annual Taste of Ocala, a fundraiser for CF Foundation scholarships. Rondo also is a three-time winner of Ocala's King of the Wing competition, a fundraiser that has, in past years, benefited ARC Marion.

Rondo came to restaurateuring naturally. Born in Atlanta 39 years ago, his family moved to Miami when he was young. His father is Cuban, his mother Spanish. “It was a lot of family, a lot of food,” he said. “Cubans have a zest for life.

“My mom was always in the restaurant business. She would bring me in with her; at 5 or 6 I was busing tables, getting tips from customers.”

At 13, the family moved to Marion County, to the Big Scrub area in the Ocala National Forest. “It was a culture shock,” he recalled.

Rondo worked at restaurants in Leesburg, and after graduating from Lake Weir High School in 1992, he went to work in The Villages. While there, he went through culinary training at Lake County Vo-Tech. Then in 1999, he said, he left The Villages and began as a server at the Ocala Ale House.

“My time at Ale House really kind of molded me,” Rondo said. “I used to make my section a mini-Mojo's. It was important to me to make everybody feel special.”

In 2005, he left the Ale House and a few months later opened Rondo's in the plaza across from the Paddock Mall. “It was successful right off the bat,” Rondo said. “Almost too quick; it was crazy.”

Despite the embarrassment of arrest, Rondo said he didn't hide. He couldn't; he had a family to support. “I knew I had to work that much harder, so I went back to waiting tables.”

Back to The Villages, in fact, where he signed on at Margarita Republic.

“He'd eaten a big piece of humble pie,” recalled owner Ron Averbeck. “He needed to bring some money in to support his family. He told us the truth. We knew his skills as a server, and I needed a server at that time.

“We believed in him,” Averbeck added. “He's a good guy, and I knew he wouldn't be down for long.”

A few months later, with the help of Realtor Karen DePasquale and advice from her husband, restaurateur Ken DePasquale, Rondo secured a small, abandoned eatery at Fort King Street and Southeast First Avenue. It had seen a succession of eateries over the years before.

Adorned with paintings of beloved blues musicians, the Mojo Grill opened in July 2009, and became an immediate hit. So much so that in the years since he's moved into ever-larger sites and now occupies the largest one yet near Target.

“I thought he had star quality,” said Ken DePasquale. “He offered a sense of restaurant style I thought would be wildly successful if he was ever in a position to make all the decisions, do everything his own way without partners.”

And that's what Rondo has with Mojo's: complete control.

No partners.

He gets the final say on everything from menu design to what cause to assist next.

If it's a child in need, though, it's hard to say no. Take Kaedyn Ballew, for instance.

The Belleview 4-year-old suffered a relapse of infant leukemia early last year, and his family had few resources for life-saving treatment at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.

Mojo's not only sponsored fundraisers to help the family but sent a carload of food to Gainesville every week for four months while the Ballews were staying there. Today, Kaedyn is 10 months past a bone marrow transplant, and his outlook is good.

“Rondo came through when times were really hard for us,” said Kaedyn's mother, Shelsie. “He has a big heart.”

The walls at Mojo Grill are plastered with plaques and other testimonials of thanks. The one Rondo's most emotional about, though, is last year's Small-Businessman of the Year.

“That kind of recognizes the climb back,” he said.

And he looks ahead: to the move of Belleview's Mojo into new quarters this week, to the upcoming opening of his Heart and Soul Southern Kitchen training centers and to a third Mojo's in The Villages by the end of the year.

“They gave me my first shot,” he said. “And now we're coming full circle.”

<p>Sept. 22, 2007, was likely the darkest night of Rondo's life.</p><p>Ron Fernandez, the owner of one of the hottest nightspots in Ocala at the time, was handcuffed and taken from his Rondo's Good Time Bar & Grill along College Road by Ocala police, accused of allowing the sale of drugs and selling alcohol to minors there.</p><p>“Confusion,” he recalled. “It was a crazy busy night. They (police) came in later and just shut everything down. I was in shock.” The pain of this memory is evident; it's not something he likes to discuss.</p><p>A year later he accepted a plea deal, admitting guilt to a second-degree misdemeanor of maintaining a public nuisance. He was sentenced to one day in jail, but given credit for time already served. Rondo long ago accepted responsibility for allowing the ill-doing at his public house.</p><p>“I think the reason we lost that place is because I just lost focus,” he said recently. It may have been too much “Good Time” and not enough control over his staff and patrons.</p><p>It was a deep low for the man with the golden recipes and a hunger for the blues. But the arrest came with a life-changing epiphany:</p><p>“When you lose everything you own, I think it was the best thing that ever happened in my life. It really opened my eyes to what was important to me, which is my family and my kids. When you hit bottom, you kind of do a soul search.</p><p>“I was never an angel,” Rondo added, “but it was a huge eye-opening, growth opportunity for me.”</p><p>And grow he did.</p><p>Today, Rondo stands among culinary titans in Marion County. He returned to the restaurant landscape in 2009, and his Mojo Grill sites in Ocala and Belleview — he's hoping to be moved into a new site there by Sunday — are almost always jammed with lunch and dinner patrons. He is hugely successful, and it is hard to miss the Mojo moniker around town. He's also considered one of the most philanthropic business leaders in the county.</p><p>And soon, perhaps as early as March, Rondo is planning to open a pair of comfort-food offshoot eateries, one each in Ocala and Belleview, designed to teach troubled youngsters a marketable skill to help them avoid bigger troubles in the future.</p><p>Plus even more to come.</p><p>Typically, whenever planning for some worthwhile community effort begins, Mojo is atop the list of businesses to hit up for help. And just as typically, Rondo comes through.</p><p>“I don't recall one time when he said 'No,' ” said Troy Strawder, CEO of ARC Marion, which provides training and jobs for the developmentally challenged. “He's always believed in our mission and our clients.”</p><p>Jennifer McKathan with the local American Cancer Society agreed. “His community support goes above and beyond,” she said.</p><p>For last October's breast cancer awareness campaign, he donated food and employee time. He even unveiled a pink minivan containing the names of thousands of area breast cancer survivors and casualties.</p><p>“He didn't question whether they were still living,” she said. “Everything we've done, he's done: Relay for Life, Making Strides ... and I'm sure if we had another campaign he'd be a part of it.”</p><p>It's just giving back, Rondo said modestly. “I wouldn't be where I'm at without the support from other people,” he said. “And I've always had a passion for kids.”</p><p>The past two Halloweens, he's sponsored a Trunk or Treat, and even rustled up costumes for children whose families couldn't afford any; one small girl in a bumblebee costume came up to him to say thank you. “That's something I'll always remember,” he said.</p><p>Helping others, he estimated, amounts to about $30,000 a year in donated food and service, but it's money well invested.</p><p>And it's not just him; his employees — now 140 but soon to number 200 — all dedicate at least one hour a week to a volunteer service.</p><p>His community involvement blends well with his wildly popular food. Mojo's has been honored at the annual Taste of Ocala, a fundraiser for CF Foundation scholarships. Rondo also is a three-time winner of Ocala's King of the Wing competition, a fundraiser that has, in past years, benefited ARC Marion.</p><p>Rondo came to restaurateuring naturally. Born in Atlanta 39 years ago, his family moved to Miami when he was young. His father is Cuban, his mother Spanish. “It was a lot of family, a lot of food,” he said. “Cubans have a zest for life.</p><p>“My mom was always in the restaurant business. She would bring me in with her; at 5 or 6 I was busing tables, getting tips from customers.”</p><p>At 13, the family moved to Marion County, to the Big Scrub area in the Ocala National Forest. “It was a culture shock,” he recalled.</p><p>Rondo worked at restaurants in Leesburg, and after graduating from Lake Weir High School in 1992, he went to work in The Villages. While there, he went through culinary training at Lake County Vo-Tech. Then in 1999, he said, he left The Villages and began as a server at the Ocala Ale House.</p><p>“My time at Ale House really kind of molded me,” Rondo said. “I used to make my section a mini-Mojo's. It was important to me to make everybody feel special.”</p><p>In 2005, he left the Ale House and a few months later opened Rondo's in the plaza across from the Paddock Mall. “It was successful right off the bat,” Rondo said. “Almost too quick; it was crazy.”</p><p>Despite the embarrassment of arrest, Rondo said he didn't hide. He couldn't; he had a family to support. “I knew I had to work that much harder, so I went back to waiting tables.”</p><p>Back to The Villages, in fact, where he signed on at Margarita Republic.</p><p>“He'd eaten a big piece of humble pie,” recalled owner Ron Averbeck. “He needed to bring some money in to support his family. He told us the truth. We knew his skills as a server, and I needed a server at that time.</p><p>“We believed in him,” Averbeck added. “He's a good guy, and I knew he wouldn't be down for long.”</p><p>A few months later, with the help of Realtor Karen DePasquale and advice from her husband, restaurateur Ken DePasquale, Rondo secured a small, abandoned eatery at Fort King Street and Southeast First Avenue. It had seen a succession of eateries over the years before.</p><p>Adorned with paintings of beloved blues musicians, the Mojo Grill opened in July 2009, and became an immediate hit. So much so that in the years since he's moved into ever-larger sites and now occupies the largest one yet near Target.</p><p>“I thought he had star quality,” said Ken DePasquale. “He offered a sense of restaurant style I thought would be wildly successful if he was ever in a position to make all the decisions, do everything his own way without partners.”</p><p>And that's what Rondo has with Mojo's: complete control.</p><p>No partners.</p><p>He gets the final say on everything from menu design to what cause to assist next.</p><p>If it's a child in need, though, it's hard to say no. Take Kaedyn Ballew, for instance.</p><p>The Belleview 4-year-old suffered a relapse of infant leukemia early last year, and his family had few resources for life-saving treatment at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.</p><p>Mojo's not only sponsored fundraisers to help the family but sent a carload of food to Gainesville every week for four months while the Ballews were staying there. Today, Kaedyn is 10 months past a bone marrow transplant, and his outlook is good.</p><p>“Rondo came through when times were really hard for us,” said Kaedyn's mother, Shelsie. “He has a big heart.”</p><p>The walls at Mojo Grill are plastered with plaques and other testimonials of thanks. The one Rondo's most emotional about, though, is last year's Small-Businessman of the Year.</p><p>“That kind of recognizes the climb back,” he said.</p><p>And he looks ahead: to the move of Belleview's Mojo into new quarters this week, to the upcoming opening of his Heart and Soul Southern Kitchen training centers and to a third Mojo's in The Villages by the end of the year.</p><p>“They gave me my first shot,” he said. “And now we're coming full circle.”</p>